Jarrod and I have been cleaning out this winter: closets, drawers, the garage, you name it. I found two journals in a bin that I wrote in when I was expecting Delaney ten years ago. Throughout the one journal were descriptions of our family and friends, lessons in life I want her to know and details of baby showers awaiting her arrival. At each baby shower friends and family wrote a note direct to Delaney about how excited they were for her arrival, or about staying positive when life gets hard, always believe in yourself, trust in the Lord, you get the picture…
The second journal was my personal journal, capturing items like what I am grateful for, bible verses I love and summaries of books I read. It was so nice to read through both of the journals, but I found the most joy out of reading the pages that said, “Today I am grateful for:” and there were five items on each day. When I read through, it became very clear: in the ten years since I picked up this book, I am still at my core the same person I was ten years ago. My grateful items are alone time, family, reading a book, time with friends, sitting in the sun, and good food.
I call this post an oldie but a goodie because the journal reminded me it is good practice to remind ourselves each day what we are grateful for in our lives, big or small. Don’t get me wrong, I understand you might be reading this and going through a hard time – all the reason to make your list of your blessings and gratefulness.
Being our best self includes keeping a positive mindset.
